Tenor’s bid to make Abba Museum Choir

A TENOR is hoping a museum dedicated to Swedish supergroup Abba chooses him as the winner who takes it all.

Garry Gilmour is within touching distance of a place in the new Abba The Museum - The Choir – but needs supporters to lay all their love on him first.

The 44-year-old, who sings with LGBT choir Loud & Proud and the Edinburgh Gay Men’s Chorus, is desperate to take his chance.

He’s reached the final ten in a competition which started with 150 hopefuls all aiming to become the new choir’s only international member.

Once the final line-up is confirmed, they will hold a special concert in Stockholm on April 6 to mark the 40th anniversary of Abba’s Eurovision Song Contest triumph.

But while he’s clearly got the voice, Garry – who reached the last 20 in Edinburgh’s Got Talent in 2012 – needs the votes.

And he’s putting out an SOS in the hope Evening News readers will back the Super Trouper from Leith.

Mr Gilmour said: “I bought Abba’s Greatest Hits when I was nine years old and in the years since I’ve collected all of their albums. When I saw the post about the competition on singer Agnetha Faltskog’s Facebook group I knew I had to enter.

“The closing date was last Friday and I sent my video through on Wednesday. I was sitting on the bus going up Leith Walk on Monday when I got the e-mail to say I had made the top ten. I was so honoured – I was holding back tears on the 22 bus.”

Auditions for the 50-strong choir have already taken place in Stockholm – but one place has been reserved for an international member, who will be trained and coached over the internet ahead of the anniversary concert.

A 30-second video of each of the ten finalists singing Thank You for The Music has been uploaded to the Abba Museum Facebook page – and judges will be taking the public’s response into consideration when they make their final decision.

Mr Gilmour’s recording has already been “liked” nearly 400 times and shared more than 160 times, as well as attracting more than 140 messages of support from all over the world. He said: “I’m so touched by the support I’ve received so far, I’m really thankful. People from all over the world – Australia, Sweden, California, Germany, Spain – have left really nice comments, it’s been amazing.

“There is one other UK finalist, but I think I’m the only Scot, and the other finalists are from all corners of the globe, the US, Taiwan, Australia, the Netherlands, Brazil, and they’ve obviously got their supporters too, so it would be really great to get some more likes and comments on my video to show that people are behind me.”

The Abba Museum opened in the Djurgarden area of Stockholm in May last year. Amongst its memorabilia, it houses stage costumes donated by band members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

Garry now hopes to rack up support for his dream via www.facebook.com/AbbaTheMuseum. He said: “I love singing, and I’m a huge Abba fan, so just making it to the top ten and getting that recognition from the Abba Museum has already meant so much to me.

“Abba is in everything – kids love Abba, grans love Abba, and so does everyone in between. If I was lucky enough to win the competition it would be an absolute dream come true. I really would be very proud and honoured to represent Edinburgh and Scotland, so please support me in this cause and help me to make my dream come true.”